Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Capital Gains on Inflation

Gold and silver prices fluctuate in relation to our current common currency. If you sell gold, you are required to pay capital gains tax. In some places you have to pay sales tax.

The cost of this extra tax work makes the use of gold and silver in trade untenable.

Goldbugs argue that the "capital gains" of gold are an illusion created by the devaluing of the currency.

CoinInflation reports that the current price of silver in a silver dollar is $25. So, if you held a silver dollar from 1964 to present, you would have to pay capital gains on $24.00.

However, the price of the silver dollar tracks other baskets of goods. You used to be able to get a haircut and shave for two bits (a quarter). A quarter of $25.00 is $6.25. Most barbers these days charge $10 for a haircut.

A basic meal at a sit down restaurant cost two bits as well. It is hard to find a meal at a sit down restaurant for $6.25.

Entry level wages used to be around a dollar a day. Today's minimum wage is around $60 a day.

Since silver is tracking the price of goods, there is a strong argument that gold and silver have not increased in value. One is paying a "capital gains tax" on inflation.

It is an ugly affair. The central authorities devalue the currency by printing dollars. They then tax the people on the inflation that they created. They are taxing the inflation that they created.

This institutionalized dishonesty benefits the rich as the cost of the middle class and poor.

There is a strong argument that the capital gains associated with gold and silver are the result of the devaluation of the currency.

The argument for reviving gold and silver as alternative currencies focuses attention on the inherent dishonesty of the Federal Reserve system.